EDCI 500: Issues in Education
Spring 2013
This course allowed me to explore issues in education that I have mainly ignored in the past because they did not appear to impact me directly or I felt there was nothing I could do about them. School violence is becoming an ever-present issue in today's educational system. From bullying in the halls, to those few who garner national attention by committing a shooting at school, violence is on the rise. I have come to realize that my classroom may not be as safe as it was ten years ago, but I have to offer the most protective environment that I can for my students. Charter schools are a hot-button issue that is really being pushed in Texas. Until this class, I was not even aware of charter schools; they were something vague that I thought was happening in the Northeast. State testing is the third issue we explored and was the one that I felt to be the least I could impact. As we were studying the issue, parents brought the testing issue to the legislature and got the requirements changed. I realize that since I feel strongly about these issues that unless I take action, nothing will be done - or worse yet, the something that is done goes against what I believe.